running

There's an awful lot of running to do.

Today is National Running Day so go run -- or stay inside where it's safe and has WiFi and watch videos of other geeks running. How do you run on the International Space Station? What's the best "Time Lord Rock" song to jog to? How fast can scary nightmare robots run? Check out these videos to find out.

Run with me if you want to live.

I'm pretty unmotivated when it comes to exercise, but I would like to be ready for an alien invasion or the rise of the machines. That's why I love the Battlesuit Runner app. It simulates a sci-fi robot/alien attack story to gamify your workout. It's more fun to run when you think you're going to get torn apart by robots if you don't.

Running makes for great exercise and keeps your heart healthy, but overdoing it by running more than an hour per day, or running multiple marathons, can actually shorten your life, according to a recent editorial in the journal Heart. As someone who feels that running is a very good thing to do if you are being chased -- by a mob of villagers with pitchforks, for example, or an angry bear -- and a very silly thing to do pretty much any other time, I'm going to abstain from the customary victory lap and just sit back feeling pretty vindicated right now.
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It may not sound like much, but MABEL's ability to run at a brisk 6.8 miles per hour is a pretty impressive accomplishment in robotics. Headed by Jessy Grizzle, professor of electrical engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, the members of the MABEL project have a wealth of in-depth knowledge about how complicated walking and running actually are. MABEL is designed to mimic actual human form in great detail, which is exceedingly complicated considering robots don't have automatic feedback response like meatbags who have feet, skin, a brain, a sense of touch, and a built-in sense of balance.

The process of actually making MABEL run involves a lot of precise calculations, not to mention precise robotics. MABEL has dozens of springs that function as tendons, weighs in at 143 pounds, has a similar weight distribution, and takes running strides during which both of her legs are off the ground for 40% of the time, just like a real human. For the time being, she still requires a boom for lateral stablization, but even considering that, the feat is impressive. While it certainly isn't hard to make a robot that can move and move fast, making robots that can adequately mimic activites humans do without a second thought is the biggest challenge robotics has to face. Thankfully, that should mean they won't be rebelling any time soon.